Statement game: No. 1 Fossil Ridge baseball looks the part in decisive win over Fort Collins

As city baseball games go, this was a serious showdown — unprecedented even.

Class 5A No. 1 Fossil Ridge jumped on No. 5 Fort Collins behind Easton Miller on the mound and an early offensive barrage before cruising to a never-in-doubt 5-1 win Tuesday at home.

The rivalry matchup was the first between top-10 city baseball teams that didn't involve Rocky Mountain in at least the MaxPreps era (approximately 2006).

And it was a reunion of sorts, with first-year Fossil Ridge coach Marc Wagner facing several former Lambkins from the Fort Collins squad he coached from 2014-22.

The SaberCats (10-1, 5-0 league) had some extra juice after a tough 2-1 loss to the Lambkins last season and a 1-5 mark in the last six matchups against their closest city rivals.

"We really wanted this one after last year," Miller said. "I definitely had that chip on my shoulder."

Here are some highlights from Fossil Ridge's big win over Fort Collins:

Miller sets the tone

The reason Fort Collins never seriously threatened? That would be Miller, who has been arguably Colorado's top pitcher so far this spring.

The right-handed senior and Air Force commit dominated from the start, striking out five of the first seven batters and 11 total while allowing just one hit and one run in the complete-game win.

"Getting ahead and putting a lot of Ks up right away, we just carried that momentum the whole way," Miller said.

His three-pitch mix was working. The curveball was sharp, the changeup fooling hitters and 90 mile-per-hour fastballs were cutting through gusting winds.

"He had good life on everything. He was throwing hard and they didn’t know what was coming," Wagner said. "That's hard to beat."

Miller is now 4-0 with 58 strikeouts and 1.01 ERA in five outings this season.

SaberCats' offense pounces early

An early offensive explosion perfectly complemented Miller's mound dominance.

Fossil Ridge knocked out Lambkins lefty starter Jude Miller after just one inning behind three straight hits to grab a 3-0 lead.

Shane Crough ripped an RBI double down the line, Mason Griffin followed with his first of two triples to the fence and Jensen Planansky added a run-scoring sacrifice fly.

"That was the game. We jumped on them early and gave them no life," said Easton Miller, who also went 2-for-3 with a double.

The SaberCats' top four hitters (Owen Morgan included) all recorded RBIs in the first two innings and Fossil Ridge tallied 10 total hits and 14 baserunners.

They even battled star Lambkins pitcher Sean Togher well after he came on in relief.

"Our top guys hit the ball hard today and that's not easy to do against their arms," Wagner said.

What's the win mean for Fossil Ridge?

First, this was simply a bounceback effort after the SaberCats suffered their first loss over the weekend to Cherry Creek.

"Coming off that, you have to get that good feeling back right away," Wagner said. "We were really aggressive and that's how we need to play."

There was a little something extra, though. There always is in these city baseball games.

"It was a business game but there's more to it," Miller said. "We were just ready for them."

Plenty of baseball remains but this Fossil Ridge team is a legitimate state-championship threat.

The SaberCats have three road games this week (Boulder twice, plus Northglenn) and still have important contests left vs. several top-15 teams, including Rocky Mountain.

But with 13 games to play in the regular season, Fossil Ridge has a great shot at eclipsing the program's all-time win record of 18 set two years ago.

And maybe a whole lot more.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado baseball: No. 1 Fossil Ridge beats Fort Collins in city rivalry